There is only so far a team can go being the classiest goalless draw machine in the country. Impressive though Arsenal's new-found defensive resilience is, time and patience are running out on them. This fourth consecutive Premier League 0–0 stalemate left them five points and a match in deficit to Aston Villa's tenancy of the last Champions League slot. Fail to depose them or a still more distant rival and a reckoning begins.

Supporters who grumble their way through expensively priced home ­fixtures will calculate whether they fancy another season of such frustrations. Players coveted by clubs that still collect silverware will wonder if their futures might be brighter elsewhere. Losing four points to Fulham in a season is little but a recipe for discord. Failing to score in four league fixtures the same.

"There are plenty of reasons why the goals have dried up and one of them is certainly psychological," said Arsène Wenger. "I think it is very difficult to assess what is technical, what is tactical, what is psychological, but at the moment the more I speak about it the bigger I make the problem."

Wenger's captain has his own ­theories, lauding team-mates for a midweek defeat of Roma — the only goal a penalty — in his programme notes then coldly exposing a flaw in their play without him. "One of the reasons we haven't been as dangerous lately is because our first thoughts have often been to pass the ball back," wrote the injured Cesc Fábregas.

"We have to do the opposite. We have to remember that we are wearing one of the most important shirts in the world and be responsible for that, not scared." Part of that fear has been inflicted by a support that regularly barracks the likes of Emmanuel Eboué and Nicklas Bendtner. Both dropped down to the bench here, Wenger switching personnel and formation to post Andrey Arshavin and Carlos Vela on the right and left wings.

Fulham were their habitual two solidly organised banks of four, Dickson Etuhu leaning opposing midfielders out of possession as a flurry of early chances came their way. Simon Davies, Clint Dempsey and Andrew Johnson were granted shots at goal; the most worrying when Johnson span Kolo Touré after nothing more complex than a long clearance and a forward's knockdown. Arsenal's first-half chances stemmed from Arshavin. Still only "80 to 90% fit" according to Wenger, the Russian delivered an exquisite pass on to Robin van Persie's boot, a fine cross on to the Dutchman's head, and teed Samir Nasri up for a shot across goal. If Mark Schwarzer twice had to save deftly, little else troubled him; home groans growing as passes drifted.

In need of half-time urgency, Wenger sent Nasri to the right and told Arshavin to play off Van Persie. Already unsettled by the enforced substitution of Chris Baird, the visitors allowed the striker two more aerial chances to score — one edging over Schwarzer's bar, the other bouncing off an upright.

Johnson responded by heading wide, while Wenger brought on his bad boys to further raise the pace. With Eboué charging down the right and Bendtner drawing markers, Abou Diaby almost converted a corner. Arshavin volleyed one opportunity over and saw Schwarzer parry another.

Fulham, though, held to their task, even playing keep ball as time ran down. "It keeps a good run going and most importantly shows that we've come of age," said Roy Hodgson, whose team remain eighth. "We've got a point and it was by no means a result of any siege mentality." Fulham have never won at Arsenal, whose fans may be wondering when they'll win a league game again.